Friday, December 12, 2014

The Forgotten Heroes of Bangkaan -- Romolo and Margarita Remo, interviewed by Ana Jusay


The Forgotten Heroes of Bangkaan



Romolo and Margarita Remo in their house in San Francisco, CA



Bangkaan is a small part of Cuenca, a town in Batangas, Philippines. It is the place where my aunt and uncle spent most of their lives before moving here in the United States. My aunt and uncle are “The Forgotten Heroes of Bangkaan,” because they helped a lot of people in our place (Bangkaan). They sent most of my cousins to college, paid for other relatives’ healthcare bill, and lastly, sent money to whoever needs it or whoever asks for it. However, now that they are not as well off as they were few years ago, people do not call them as much. And, now they feel less loved, less needed, and forgotten. Being forgotten by the people they love is I think one of the most painful things they have experienced.

Romolo and Margarita are my uncle and aunt. Margarita is my dad's oldest sister; in fact I got my middle name "Margarita" from her. My uncle has been here since 1976, a year and a half after arriving in the United States he went back to the Philippines to marry my aunt. Since then, they've been living here in the United States. They occasionally go back to the Philippines to visit. 

The interview is generally about their lives in the Philippines; their childhood and their education. We also talked about the processed they have to go through in order to go here in the United States, and the jobs they had. Lastly, we talked about how working here, changed not just their lives, but also the lives of their families back in the Philippines.


Segment 1: 


Segment 2: 




Segment 3:





Segment 4:

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